


Into The Darkness

by Skyson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Confessions, F/M, Friendship/Love, Hotels, Skoulson RomFest 2k16 REDUX, Sokovia Accords, Song Inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 20:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7522213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Into the darkness, we are one. Into the darkness, we all must run. Into the darkness, we'll burn a light. Into the darkness, we all must fight."</p><p>Written for Skoulson RomFest 2k16 Redux - Day 1 - prompts used: AC, Sokovia Accords, hotel rooms</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into The Darkness

_War is coming_  
_War is crying out_  
_The world is shaking_  
_The sky is falling down - the sky is falling down_

_Into the darkness - we are one_  
_Into the darkness - we all must run_  
_Into the darkness - we'll burn a light_  
_Into the darkness - we all must fight, we all must fight_

_Something's coming_  
_Something's on its way_  
_Mountains are crumbling_  
_Like statues of clay - something's on its way_

_We are one_  
_We all must run_  
_We'll burn a light_  
_We all must fight, we all must fight_

~~~~

> "The Avengers are great, but they should be a last resort. We can't be dependent on a handful of people - super powered or not - to take care of the world's problems! They should be sent somewhere because the UN - a collective of people from around the world - decided where The Avengers would be the most useful."
> 
> "Wait, wait, wait. You have to remember that only one hundred and seventeen countries signed the Accords. What about the other seventy-six countries that are a part of the UN? How can you know when to trust the hand that's holding the leash?"
> 
> "How can you trust the Avengers themselves? Look at what they've already done - they have no regard for the damage they cause, the innocent lives that are lost!"
> 
> "Alright, then what about this - no Accords, but they work alongside local military? They notify people who are capable of evacuating or otherwise protecting innocent locals, and -"
> 
> "And you think they're what, going to wait until people are evacuated? Of course not! 'The bad guys would just slip away in the crowds, there would be mass pandemonium' - and besides, we had that, remember? SHIELD? Look how well that worked out,"
> 
> "Look, this is an argument we've had before and one I don't want to get into today - today we're focusing on the Accords. But I've said it before and you know where I stand with SHIELD - they were good, when they were doing their jobs. I fully believe that even more people would have died in New York had SHIELD not been involved - HYDRA took over and tore it all down, but I refuse to believe SHIELD was just a front. SHIELD was real, and necessary, and,"
> 
> "But,"
> 
> "And I'll shut up with this - if the Avengers had SHIELD at their backs, the Sokovia Accords wouldn't even be in question."
> 
> "Are you blaming SHIELD for the Avengers' mess?"
> 
> "Of course not. I do agree that the Avengers should have been more aware, more careful - but it's not SHIELD's fault they had wolves in the herd."

Daisy felt a cold chill go up her spine at that familiar phrase.

> "Alright, for the sake of our time slot, we've got to move on - what about the rest of the powered people? These Inhumans that are cropping up at an alarming rate? Do you think they should all be free to make their own decisions? Use their powers how they see fit?"
> 
> "Of... Of course not,"
> 
> "How do you see those two things as mutually exclusive?! No, wait, I don't want to get on about the Avengers again right now. Let's pretend that these Accords are not associated with the Avengers. Would you agree with them then?"
> 
> "I...okay, I've thought about this one a lot, and I honestly do not have a definitive answer. I realize that doesn't make for a very good debate show, but that's where I am right now."
> 
> "There are horrible people in this world, and now they have super powers, and they have no regulation. We can't just let them continue to terrorize the world,"
> 
> "I agree with that, I agree with that. But let me ask you this - how is that any different than you and me? Alright, let's assume - just hear me out - let's assume that, as normal humans, you are moral. You have beliefs that keep you from killing your neighbor. But me, I don't share your morals. I'm a guy who is selfish or mentally unstable or out for revenge, and I have killed my neighbor. I'm arrested, right? I've broken the law, I've committed a crime, so I'm arrested."
> 
> "Yeah."
> 
> "These people with powers, these Inhumans, it's the same thing. They break the law, they get arrested. Who are we to assume that they're going to break the law, just because they can do something different that we can't?"
> 
> "Humankind is a selfish race. You are naive to assume that someone wouldn't be tempted to rob a bank if it was suddenly made ten times more easier for them to do it."
> 
> "Robbing a bank - are you talking specifically, now? Because then you would be basing an opinion of an entire group of people on the actions of one person, and that is faulty generalization,"
> 
> "You can't tell me that this isn't dangerous. We have no way to contain these kind of people! Good intentions or not, it is still dangerous to go around and use these abilities unchecked!"

"God, turn that off," Joey groaned, after he and Elena had entered the room and listened for a moment. Daisy muted the large screen that hung on the wall across from the kitchen table.

"¿Cuál es el punto de la serie?"

"They just like to hear the sound of their own voices," Daisy explained to Elena, who nodded in understanding.

"Not bad," Joey praised Daisy's understanding of Elena, and Daisy shrugged.

"I've kind of got it down now. I just need to learn how to reply in Spanish."

"No worries." Elena waved her hand in the air, smiling at Daisy, and she returned the smile, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"You have to stop watching that crap. It makes you cranky for the rest of the day." Joey informed her, and she scowled at him. He pointed at her. "See?" She rolled her eyes and set the remote down on the table.

"I'm going to hit the gym." Daisy told them, but Joey stopped her before she left the room.

"Hey," He said quietly, slipping her a folded piece of paper. Daisy took it from him without question, giving him a quick nod before slipping it into her pocket and continuing out of the room.

Joey and Elena still saw Coulson and the others, occasionally, the two of them having earned a pardon from Talbot regarding the whole registration issue. They couldn't work for the ATCU outright, but the Director still sent them out on SHIELD operations occasionally, working in the dark and behind the scenes so their faces wouldn't be caught on camera.

Joey occasionally exchanged word along between Daisy and Coulson, in the form of small hastily written letters, or scraps of paper. Daisy usually simply sent word that she was still alive, and sometimes gave him the names of Inhumans that were too dangerous for basic law enforcement to deal with. In turn, Coulson kept her updated on what SHIELD was doing, how they were faring against the Watchdogs, stupid things Talbot has recently said to him...those, in particular, amused her.

Finding the gym empty, Daisy pulled the piece of paper from her pocket and opened it. It was a series of numbers, coordinates, if she guessed correctly. She recognized Coulson's handwriting, but there was nothing else on the note. If it was coordinates, she had no idea what she would find once she got there. An Inhuman? SHIELD, waiting for her? Was it one of the few still standing Hydra houses? A pack of Watchdogs?

While she ran on the treadmill, she looked up the coordinates on her phone, only mildly surprised when they proved to lead to a hotel, in a town north of Frankfurt, Germany.

"What the hell is in Rauschenberg?" Daisy muttered to herself.

~~~~

She went, of course - in disguise, and scoped the place out before eventually approaching the building. There were no familiar or overtly SHIELD-owned vehicles in the parking lot, but that didn't necessarily mean much. They knew that Daisy would recognize their unmarked SUV's.

It turned out the place was family run, and the owners were very kind to let her wait in the front foyer area, after she informed them she was meeting someone. She sat in a chair that offered the best view of the open room, with her back toward the wall, and nonchalantly looked around.

There were a handful of other people moving about, but after offering up a smile, they went about their own business. None of them struck her as the undercover type, and she wasn't getting any tense vibes from any of them.

She was starting to consider getting up and taking a walk around the town when a car pulled up out front, the driver turning around and accepting some bills from whomever was sitting in the back. A taxi, and quite possibly...

She held her breath as she watched Coulson step out of the back of the taxi, smiling and saying something to the driver before closing the door and waving him off. He had a small bag slung over his shoulder, but that was all he carried.

He was also wearing a suit, and even from this distance she could tell it was one of his nicer ones. Did he just finish an op, somewhere nearby? The area was a bit more rural than night-life, from what she'd seen so far.

She watched him calmly look around the parking lot, as if he were familiarizing himself with the hotel. She knew he was looking for any familiar or suspicious vehicles. Apparently appeased, he strode toward the doors, taking his sunglasses off as he entered. She stood as he hesitated, waiting for his eyes to get used to lighting of the room, and he scanned around just as she did, soon catching her eye.

His expression didn't change as he looked at her, and for a moment she wondered if her disguise was _too good_ , but then he blinked, and the corner of his mouth quirked upward just slightly.

Smiling carefully in return, she picked up her bag and approached him.

"Hello," She greeted him, choosing not to use a name in case he was using a fake one.

"Did you get here okay?" He asked. _Were you followed?_

"No problems." She assured him, and he smiled a little wider, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders to pull her close for a hug. "You?" She asked against his shoulder.

"I missed the first bus, unfortunately, but found a taxi driver willing to bring me." _I had a tail but I got rid of it._

"All the way from the city?" _Was it SHIELD?_ Coulson nodded, and shrugged.

"Nice guy. Tomorrow is his sisters birthday, so I gave him a little extra."

"How sweet of you," Daisy teased, pulling back.

"It's good to see you," He said, and she knew he meant it. He pressed a quick kiss against her forehead before he allowed his arm to fall away from her, and she took his hand as they walked together toward the main desk. "Hi, I've reserved a double room under Phil Martin?" Coulson spoke to the older man behind the desk.

"Yes, right here," The owner nodded, typing at his computer. "Let me get you your room keys. There is a minibar, tv, wifi, fresh breakfast every morning, and the restaurant downstairs opens for lunch and dinner. If you have any questions, just let me know." When the man turned around to get their keys, Daisy mouthed 'mini bar' at Coulson and wiggled her eyebrows. He smirked, and tried to make the expression a little more innocent when the owner turned back to hand them their keys.

"Thank you," Coulson said, and he smiled brightly at both of them.

"Newly weds?" He asked, and Daisy felt Coulson squeeze her hand slightly. Was that some sort of signal, or involuntary?

"Sort of. We spend a lot of time apart because of work, unfortunately."

"Ah, that's too bad. You should work together, like my wife and I do!" The man gestured around him, and winked. Coulson's laugh sounded awkward, and Daisy tugged on his hand.

"Let's go check out the room, dear," Daisy suggested, nodding a goodbye toward the owner, and leading the way toward the stairs.

~~~~

"Why are we here?" Daisy asked, after they had checked the room for surveillance, Coulson had tucked his gun inside of his bag, and she had removed her wig and most of her makeup.

"I thought it might be good middle ground." Coulson replied, slipping off his suit jacket and hanging it over the back of one of the chairs. He loosened the knot on his tie as well, sighing. "It's so quiet here."

"Middle..." Daisy narrowed her eyes, and felt her spine tense ramrod straight. "How do you know where I am?" She demanded, fear lacing her tone. If the ATCU got wind of where she was keeping her team....

"Daisy," Coulson held his hands up in a 'hold on' gesture, "relax, I'm the only one that knows." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Seriously, _just_ me. And I'm not going to tell anyone." She didn't say anything, and he added, "I've known for a few weeks now, and nobody has knocked down your door. _Trust me._ "

"How did you find out?" She finally asked, wondering if he'd somehow been able to follow Joey or Elena. They were the only two who continued to work with both Daisy and SHIELD.

"The Black Box is still coded to _my_ DNA, remember?" Coulson reminded her gently. "The Director has agreed to let me keep that in my repertoire. Talbot doesn't even know it exists, and we'd like to keep it that way." Daisy blinked at him. "Anyway, Fury has a list of safe houses and their supposedly current condition. Admittedly, I'd visited a few before I guessed right."

"You've _been_ to my base?!" Daisy exclaimed, appalled that she may have missed such a huge security issue. Coulson shook his head.

"No, not exactly. I've just been keeping an eye on the local traffic. And I wasn't one hundred percent sure until your reaction just now." He admitted. She relaxed, groaning and rubbing her hand over her eyes. "I'm serious about what I said, Daisy. I won't tell anyone."

"Why were you looking?" She wondered, and he looked nervous for a moment.

"I just...I wanted to make sure you...especially with the recent reactions to the Accords, I just wanted to know that you had a safe place to be."

Daisy tilted her head to the side and blinked at him, and he avoided her eyes.

"Where does Talbot think you are right now?" Daisy asked.

"Talbot thinks I'm looking for you. The agents May sent after me managed to tail me to Amsterdam, but I lost them before my connecting flight. That was when my schedule was messed up a bit though, and I really did end up missing the bus here."

"How are you going to explain this to them when you head back?"

"I'll figure it out." Coulson shrugged, striding over to the large glass doors and opening the curtains to look out onto the terrace. "Nice," He murmured, and Daisy sighed, sitting at the chair opposite the one that held his jacket. "I suppose you want to get to work immediately." Coulson announced in an odd tone of voice, and she frowned slightly.

"Better sooner rather than later. I don't want to give any of my enemies even a chance to find me here."

"SHIELD isn't your enemy," Coulson replied sadly, and Daisy looked up to find him looking down at her. She softened her gaze, and shrugged a shoulder apologetically.

"I have a lot of others, though. And I wouldn't exactly call SHIELD my friends right now..." She trailed off, looking away, and then quickly met his eyes again. "Except you."

"You know I'm on your side, right?" Coulson told her, sitting down across from her, on the edge of the chair. "I'm always on your side."

Daisy snorted.

"Coulson," She started to chide, but he shook his head and interrupted her,

"You're my constant, Daisy." He insisted. "No matter what the world becomes, I know that you - you're my guide to the truth. Because you won't accept anything less than that. No matter how dark it gets, I'm following you, Daisy."

She watched him closely, tilting her head a little as she examined his determined gaze. He looked very serious, level-headed, calm.

"I'm not perfect." She told him, and he only blinked. "...It is a whole lot better knowing you've got my back." She smiled a little, and his expression relaxed somewhat.

"I've always got your back." Coulson promised her.

~~~~

"So you _are_ still working on the Secret Warriors project," Coulson breathed, leaning back. "I'd hoped so."

They'd gone downstairs for dinner an hour ago (she'd put her wig back on for the ordeal, but removed it immediately upon reentering the room), and were now winding down back in their room, both of them lounging on the bed with their backs against the wall.

"I'm not giving you any details," Daisy told him, "but yeah, I've got a small team. And we're helping a few others train, just enough to have control over their powers so they don't accidentally hurt themselves or someone else."

"Are you...indexing them?" Coulson asked carefully, and she thinned her lips.

"My mom had all those books, describing different Inhumans and their powers and how they related to one another - that was a part of the reason why they were so insistent about the whole 'grand design' idea and each Inhuman serving a purpose, or filling a gap. In light of that... I would like to keep up her records. But I ask each and every person, including Joey and Elena, if they would mind me recording their powers. Some of them want to remain anonymous, but agree. Some of them don't mind at all. Some of them don't want any record whatsoever - and I respect their decisions. I only write down the people who have given me permission, and it's not really an _index_ , per se; more of a... Research journal."

"You should run for President."

Daisy turned her head to look at him, incredulously.

"How much wine did you drink at dinner?" She wondered, and he grinned.

"If you had stayed, I honestly think you could have been Director of SHIELD one day." Coulson replied nonchalantly, kicking off his shoes and letting them fall off the side of the bed. Daisy's one eyebrow rose even higher. "You'd have been better than me."

"Wow, Coulson," Daisy laughed quietly, shaking her head and facing forward again.

"You don't believe me." Coulson accused, and she felt the bed dip as he shifted closer to her. "I'm serious! You're so... You _care_ about other people, more than I ever could. You have a great way of seeing the bigger picture of things, more so than I can sometimes, and you offer a point of view that's unlike any other."

"Maybe I should be _co-Director_ , then, AC," Daisy teased lightly, looking at him again to catch his eyes lighting up.

His face was very close to hers.

"You should." He nodded emphatically. "When I'm better, when May trusts me again, you'll be my co-Director. That's what SHIELD needs. A partnership leading it."

"When May - " She had six or seven questions running through her head all at once. "They don't trust you?"

"Ah," Coulson frowned and looked away from her, distractedly rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "It's nothing."

"Coulson,"

"Don't worry about it." He interrupted, his tone having an edge to it that she hadn't heard in a long while. She pressed her lips together, but decided to ask him about it later. "Hey," He said, all soft and light again, "you called me AC."

_Dangerous._

"The war isn't coming, Coulson - it's already here. I hope you understand that I'm putting this team together to do what the Avengers can no longer do. I'm giving them the option to join me, but, when they hear about the truth of what's going on...most of them want to fight. And some of them... They have family, friends, who support them. Who want to fight as well, but I can't have those lives on my conscience."

"You, uh," He seemed wrong-footed for a moment, but quickly caught up, "you want them to work for SHIELD? We can't just bring in civilians willy-nilly."

She really wanted to hear him say willy-nilly again, but she didn't want to derail from the conversation.

"No, probably not SHIELD, but... I don't know, there's got to be some way we can use them? We have people who aren't Inhuman but support us and want to help us. I want to give them a way to fight with us. This is... I'm afraid that this mess is only going to get bigger, and we need everyone on our side of the ring that we can get. Humans, Inhumans, fighting as one? Just the image of us banding together might be enough to change some minds of the ones in charge."

"It won't be enough to change all of them." Coulson replied in disappointment. "But I understand what you're saying. I'm just not sure how to go about this yet. Give me some time to think it over."

"That's all I ask." Daisy leaned her shoulder against his for a second, grateful.

"Daisy?" Coulson spoke up after they sat together in silence for a few minutes.

"Yeah?" She looked at him again, getting used to the closeness of his face. He was looking back at her, almost perturbed for some reason.

"You are the least selfish person I've ever met in my life."

"Um...thank you?" Daisy frowned in confusion, and then remembered the talk show she'd watched yesterday morning. "You saw that show, didn't you?" She groaned, and Coulson put his hand on her knee.

"They don't know you." He assured her. _I know you_ , he assured her with his eyes.

Eventually, she gave him a short nod and a partial smile. He smiled back, and after another moment, she shifted down a little and rested her head against his shoulder.

She felt like she didn't deserve him, but she was so thankful she had him.

~~~~

"Be safe, okay?" Daisy told him, the two of them standing under the roof of the front terrace. She reached up and straightened the already impeccable knot of his tie, pressing her fingers against the fabric for a beat.

"I could tell you the same thing," Coulson replied, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Keep me updated?" She requested, and he nodded.

"You too." He said softly, as his taxi pulled up nearby. Her fingers were still on his tie, though, so he didn't move.

Before she talked herself out of it, she slipped her hand up to the side of his neck and pulled him close so she could kiss him.

She'd been aiming for soft and sweet, but he immediately parted his lips against hers and then she realized her tongue was in his mouth.

Pulling away suddenly, she laughed with mild embarrassment.

"Sorry," She apologized, looking away for a moment.

"Don't be," Coulson breathed, and looking up at him again she found him...in awe? She relaxed, and widened her smile.

"You'd better go." She advised firmly, wiping lipstick from his mouth with the pad of her thumb. He breathed in deeply, and then nodded. She took a step away from him, and with that signal he headed toward the taxi. After tossing his bag in the backseat, he hesitated before climbing all the way inside the car.

"I'll write you," He called out, and Daisy laughed.

What a dork.

But that was probably one of the best things she'd ever heard in her life.

"You'd better!" She replied back, getting a pleased smile out of him.

She was a dork, too.

~~~~~

**Author's Note:**

> Each of my fics for the RomFest are inspired not only from the prompts given, but also by different songs from The Phantoms. The title of the fic will share the title of the song, and the lyrics will be included within.
> 
> So far, the fics are not related to one another, but that may end up changing as the week continues. I'll edit information as necessary.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Everyone's contributions to this fest have been so amazing so far, I can't wait to see what continues to come this week.


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